Policy experiments with a paper industry model

A simulation model of the paper industry is briefly described, as is the manner in which the model was developed. The model was built in order to carry out a series of simulation experiments. The purpose of these experiments was to compare the effectiveness of a number of sets of alternative policies, which had been devised with the objective of ameliorating the effect on the industry of demand fluctuations. In addition, the experiments were intended to detect potential supply dislocations likely to be created anywhere in the system as a result of employing the policies under test. Both the experiments themselves, and the results obtained from them, are described and discussed.     

Industry modelling

Industry models are used for a variety of purposes including: forecasting markets for strategic planning, providing a basis for directing investments by financial institutions and governments and the development of contingency plans by companies. This paper assesses industry models along two different dimensions, that of the missions fulfilled by the model and that of the problems encountered in the construction of the model: in effect a market and a production orientation respectively. An attempt is made to identify potentially fruitful directions for further developments.     

良心怎么能安宁

我很赞同某作家在一篇文章里的说法:在公共汽车上让不让座其实体现了一种人类精神上的两难困境——即究竟是选择良心上的安宁还是肉体上的安宁。大意是这样的了。文章是好多年以前看的,之所以记得这么清楚,盖因为我像所有朝九晚五的上班族一样,时常要经受交通高峰期时拥堵的公共汽车上如此这般心灵的煎熬。尤其是年纪渐长腰力不济之后,渐渐演变为一种条件反射式的惊惧,看到打开的车门中一个头发花白满脸皱纹的人颤颤巍巍地移动着来到我的面前,就会产生某种心理上的不适。虽然这种矛盾与心理的斗争远不及哈姆雷特那著名的“生存还是灭亡”命题惊心动魄,但也足够让我在理智与情感之间徘徊不前。当然,大多数时候理智是占据上峰的,所以我往往会不假思索地跳将起来将座位让出,然后带着被满足的良心以及几分可疑的阿Q精神在“肉林”一     

Foster care in India: An exploratory survey of the community perceptions and prospects for implementation of foster care in a developing nation: A study in Udaipur,Rajasthan, India

This study was conducted in order to assess the prospects for implementing foster care as an alternative to the dominant system of institutional care available to orphaned and abandoned children in India. 653 families in urban Udaipur participated in a mixed-methods based assessment of receptivity to foster and adoptive care. The majority of those who responded reported receptivity to the idea of foster care as an alternative to institutional care. However, analyses demonstrated that respondents also perceived barriers to implementing systematic foster care, particularly with regard to family recruitment due to problems securing family and community support for participation. The results are discussed in light of governmental calls for non-governmental organization and other stakeholders to institute alternatives to foster and adoptive care. The results of this study have applied significance for organizations and practitioners seeking to implement care alternatives for orphan and abandoned children in India.     

Skills Laboratories and the New Social Work Degree: One Small Step Towards Best Practice? Service Users' and Carers' Perspectives

The new social work degree has a strong emphasis upon the development of communication skills and upon the requirement for Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) to assess students' safety and readiness to practise. The GSCC grants to HEIs to develop skills labs to help with this skills development have been widely welcomed, but not enough work has been done fully to evaluate the effectiveness of such skills labs. There has been some previous evidence to suggest that such projects may even be counter‐productive. This article explores the way in which Staffordshire University has called upon its service user/carer group and a team of practice assessors to work with the academic tutor to devise and carry out a programme of skills training in a skills lab environment for first year students on the new degree. An initial evaluation of this project shows encouraging results for this ‘work in progress’, even though it is still early days.     

RELIGION AND SUPPORT FOR DEMOCRACY: A CROSSNATIONAL EXAMINATION

This article examines citizens' support for democracy across forty-six nations. The authors use multilevel modeling and data from the World Values Survey and other sources to assess individuals' support for democracy in light of broader country-level factors as well as individual proclivities toward religion, politics and community. Findings suggest that the predominance of a particular religion in a nation does not influence individuals' views in and of itself. It does, however, matter when individuals' religious beliefs and practices as well as their civic engagement are taken into account. These factors, even in predominantly Muslim countries, appear to foster rather than hinder positive views towards democracy. But individuals seeking a prominent role for religion in government are likely to be substantially less supportive of democracy. Such antidemocratic attitudes appear countered in a citizenry where many are engaged in conventional political activities, have attained higher social statuses and reside in highly globalized states with Protestant or Muslim majorities and without a Communist legacy.     

Dimensions of pornography

In this article, definitions and dimensions of pornography are analyzed. College students (N =201) reported the degree to which they believed items in a series of statements reflecting sexual images were pornographic. Factor analysis is used to explore the multidimensional nature of pornographic imagery and produce item indices of perceived pornographic content. The analysis delineates five dimensions of pornography: consensual heterosexual and lesbian sexual images, consensual male homosexual images, skin magazines, rape images, and art. These five dimensions of pornography are interpreted as reflecting dimensions of exploitation, degradation, and objectification. It is concluded that future research on pornography should consistently implement measures of multiple dimensions of pornography. This will allow future research findings on pornography to be aggregated and, thereby, better inform social policy.